The social media star, who shot to fame on the app musical.ly, now boasts 1.3 million Instagram followers. Here’s what he had to share with the online mag:

On how he got started in social media: “I moved out to L.A. when I was 13 and I was living in an apartment complex with my mom and my sister right in the center of Hollywood. I became friends with my a friend of my sister’s who taught me how to do it all. He made my apps and my name and stuff all ‘itsjoeybirlem’ and we both just started and kind of became a group, like us two were doing social media together.”

On the best advice he’s been given from his “social media big brothers” and living withCameron Dallas: “Cameron was amazing. He taught me a lot of stuff, he mostly taught me how to stay active! Like I wasn’t usually posting every single day and he helped me a lot with that, and I think that’s what kind of gave me a lot also.”

On how social media has influenced his whole career: “It made me more outgoing and happier, a nicer person, I got more friends. It just benefited me in every way.”